So I’ve always known about the cloth diapering phenomena, but poo-poohed (pun intended) it as a something “the older generation” does.. back when disposable diapers weren’t as advanced or if you really needed to save money. Plus, aren’t disposable diapers way easier to use??

I admit cloth diapers have come a long way since – they now look just like a ‘regular’ diaper (ie. not a big sheet of flat cloth that you fold and pin together), and you’re spoilt for choice with a selection of awesome designs. Still though, I’d considered them nice to give as presents, but not something that I’d do for my own kids.

 

So I was pretty excited to try out this set of Charlie Banana cloth diapers. OK fine I will admit it.. I LOVE THE PACKAGING! In my favourite pretty shade of turquoise, no less 😛 Charlie Banana is owned by a French lady with a sexy accent, but that’s besides the point. What really wow’d me was how insanely soft the diapers are! They are ridiculously, insanely soft. Man, they should make adult underwear in this material 😉 The diaper interior is like a soft fluffy cloud, and the printed exterior is silky smooth and quick-dry.  I’ve gone round feeling the various other brands’ cloth diapers and these Charlie Banana ones are the silkiest and softest.

I won’t even go into the designs, because you can see in the photos how CUTE they are!

 

My box of 6 diapers came with 12 inserts included. They’re plush and super absorbent. I’d always thought that cloth diapering was really messy/wet.. so I was pretty surprised that it’s actually pretty hard to tell if the kid has peed in their diaper – I can only tell if I stick my hand into the pocket and smoosh my finger against the insert! A far cry from the sopping-wet image I had in mind of cloth diapers.

 

You know what they are fantastic for? Potty training. I always announce to Hunter he can wear his “big boy pants”, and this morning I said to him “Look, you have blue pants on your bum!” and he made a beeline for the mirror, and admired his diaper-clad bum.. LOL. So vain.

Hunter can wear one for about 3-4 hours.. and when I take them off, I just rinse them with water in the sink, squeeze it as dry as possible, then pop it into the washing basket to go into the next load of laundry. Easy peasy.

Anyway, here are some photos of Hunter and his sexy lil bum in his sexy lil Charlie Banana diapers:

 

 

 

 

Now with Carter, things are a little different as this kiddo poos round the clock – argh! He basically does the typical neon-yellow runny poo with every breastfeed.. so he is changed every 2-3 hours. To make things easier (and cleaner), I use a liner to catch the poo (pee still goes through into the insert). This means that I just chuck the liner straight down the toilet, and then rinse out the diaper+insert in the sink as I do with Hunter’s.

Here’s Carter chilling out with his robot cloth diapers from Charlie Banana!

 

 

 

 

 

So for Carter, I like using cloth diapers at night, since he’s changed less frequently then and cloth diapers are better for his skin. But, in the middle of the night, I really cannot be bothered rinsing it out, as easy as it is. So instead, I just wrap the diaper up (just like how you’d wrap a disposable up), and chuck it into the Charlie Banana tote bag. It’s waterproof and zips up, and hangs right next to where I change Carter. Simple.

And, erm, can I say that this bag feels SO GOOD? It’s really silky and soft, and I’m using it as a bag for wet swimmers as well. Mine is a pretty versatile but boring black colour, but I saw online they have a super cute Spaceships tote bag, and arghhhh even a pretty Butterfly tote bag that I want for myself!!

 

 

 

 

 

I’m a cloth diaper convert now. Never dreamt that I would ever use them since I always thought they’d be a major hassle, so I’m glad I was proven wrong. They’re easy to use and feel so nice! The point of cloth diapering is that it’s not only eco-friendly, but it really does save hell of a lot of money. But alright I’ll be honest… it is DAMN CUTE seeing baby butts in cute cloth diapers instead of the standard disposable stuff – the fashionista in me approves 😉

I also saw they have a Changing mat in turquoise, which is totally calling my name because not only will it function as a changing mat when I’m out.. but I think it’ll make a cool burp cloth too. And, I’m also a sucker for organic super-soft materials….

And, there’s also a Diaper pail that comes in the same adorable designs. I love the concept, it’d be fab for stuffing dirty baby laundry into because we currently use the same sort of thing, except our bag is a crappy plain white mesh one..

Charlie Banana are available instore at Mothercare if you want to check it out in-person. Or, their website ships internationally and I just checked and their shipping rates are really reasonable. More reason to buy… *ahem*…..